Juan oye _____ su perro Spot.
Would I use a personal a in the blank or leave it as it is.
I'll send this to our Spanish expert, SraJMcGin.
what about this one
Necesito _____ un abogado.
The "personal a" is necessary.
The "personal a" is not necessary. I think that it is not necessary
Quiero _____ mi esposo Jorge.
I think the personal a is necessary
Correct! You are "depersonalizing" un abogado here = not necessary
However, it IS necessary with "mi esposo Jorge" because that IS personalized.
I think you have it!
Sra
To determine whether or not to use the personal "a" in the blank, you need to consider whether the noun following the verb "oye" is a person (or a pet with a personal relationship to the speaker). In this case, the noun is "su perro Spot" which means "his/her dog Spot."
If "Spot" is a person's name, then the personal "a" should be used. For example:
- Juan oye a su amigo.
- Juan oye a su madre.
However, if "Spot" is not a person's name, then the personal "a" is not used. For example:
- Juan oye su perro.
- Juan oye a su perro Spot.
So, in this case, considering that "Spot" is not a person's name, you should leave the blank as it is and not use the personal "a":
- Juan oye su perro Spot.
This could be a personal choice! If you consider your pet part of the family, you COULD. Ordinarily personal "a" is reserved for anything you wish to personalize, and that could be a city, country, pet, etc.
Sra
I'll flag this in case you have further questions. That means I 'll come back later.